I just watched this film tonight, and I have to say it was strikingly good. This just proves that special effects and huge budgets do not make a movie scary. The shot with the demon in the fog is truely haunting image. The story was strong and powerful and the ending was so mysterious. I love William Shatner and I strongly believe his work is underrated. What a perfect movie to watch with Halloween so near!
shareVery unique film that falls between art and experimental avante garde cinema(Esperanto being spoken). It is a perfect Halloween flick, and would be a good double feature with Herk Harvey's Carnival of Souls. I must for any Cult film selection of DVD's.
shareI agree! You can tell that Conrad Hall was the cinematographer- virtually every shot is suitable for framing.
shareI'm a huge fan of "Incubus" as well. I especially like the eerie and off-beat otherworldly atmosphere; the film quite vividly evokes this magical and mysterious alternate time with stunning acuity and conviction. Moreover, "Incubus" works beautifully well as a smart, thoughtful and provocative parable on faith, corruption, redemption and temptation. It's a refreshingly quirky and original work which proves you don't need either gross graphic gore or needless slicked-up state-of-the-art special effects to make a spooky and compelling fright feature.
"We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Vic Morrow/And Steve McQueen"
Where is that quote from? "We're all part Shatner/And part James Dean/Part Vic Morrow/And Steve McQueen" It feels so familiar, but maybe it's just the sounds.
shareThe song quote is from a funky hard rock tune called "Part Shatner" that was recorded in the mid 90's by the Nw York hardcore band Hell No. My good buddy John Woods is the lead singer and songwriter for Hell No. I thought the quote would be appropriate for the "Incubus" web board because after all Shatner is the star of the movie.
"Warren Oates died for our sins"
This is one of the few William Shatner movies that I enjoy not for its camp value but because it's actually pretty damn good. In fact it is innaccurate to characterize Incubus as a "Shatner" movie; it's just a good, atmospheric and creepy art-house movie that happens to star our favorite drop-kicking captain kirk in a great role.
I watched this on DVD and the special features are great: if you are a fan of this movie get the DVD and listen to Shatner's commentary.
Absolutely terrific gem. I thought it was Bergmanesque in presentation, and it wasnt very heavy in themes - it pretty much captured good and evil.
*spoiler*
I thought that the deeper meaning was that Marc(Shatner) was tempted by the demoness and left his sister, who became blinded. - when he made his trip back, he had to save his soul, and in doing so took the demoness with him as they died together. - It is a nice film with good production value for its location. For it to be unearthed in France is appropriate. It is an odd piece of work that can be "discovered" by the casual film goer.
Well, guys, I watched this film again for the first time in a year, and it's still just as good, if not, better! I can't get over that goat thing at the end!
shareThey died? I didn't get that...
shareAgreed, I finally saw this film the other day and loved it. Great atmosphere and dialogue. You can definitely see it's Outer Limits roots mixed with 60's indie and arthouse styles. Kia (Ames) was a big draw, though Shatner did surprisingly well.
It was only $4 at Wal-Mart , easily worth 5X that amount.
This and "The Intruder" (dir. Roger Corman, 1961) are the only interesting Shatners I've seen.
shareI enjoyed this movie. The black-and-white photography puts us in a strange world that's attractive and frightening. The story takes the concept of good and evil, and the idea of a soul very seriously. It's fascinating.
William Shatner may not convey purity of soul, but he still gives a good performance.
... Justin
It's one of my favorites. The photography and overall visual atmosphere is amazing, the use of Esperanto really adds to the nightmarish feel of it too, then you have the effective use of religion and demonology, and the actors have a great visual presence (like the succubus coaxing Shatner's character to follow her with the wave of her hand). I love films that feel like life and nightmares have become one, and this is one of the best of all time in that area.
shareIt's quite an odd little film.
"This is Fu Manchu. Once again the world is at my mercy."
This is a beautiful, haunting film that deserves to be revived big-time. Every frame is a masterpiece, and this film was way ahead of its time in creating atmosphere. This would be a good bookend to Bergman's "Seventh Seal" or German Expressionist films. Excellent film that needs a bigger audience and distribution. 8/10 stars.
shareThe camerawork was very Bergmanesque. The scene near thge beginning when the two Incubi(?) were talking in closeup and it kept cutting back and forth between their faces, for instance.
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